This invention relates to an auger flight section for use in an auger of the type comprising an auger shaft which is drivingly rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof and an auger tube surrounding the shaft.
Generally, augers of this type include a metal flight which extends from a feed end of the auger in which the flight and shaft are exposed from at least a part of the tube to a discharge end of the auger. The metal flight is helical in nature and forms a strip running along the shaft and extending from the shaft to the tube so that the shaft is centered in the tube. Such devices have been used and manufactured for many years and satisfactorily feed grain and other particulate materials at relatively high rates and with low power usage.
One problem which arises with augers of this type is that the flight at the feed end of the auger must be exposed in order that it can receive the material to be fed into the auger. In many cases a hopper device surrounds the auger flight at the feed end so that the grain or other particulate material from a truck or discharge system can be deposited into the hopper and fed through the auger. The flight when it is exposed is highly dangerous object in that it is rotating relatively rapidly and with enough force to transmit the material along the full length of the auger. Any object or limb of a person placed into the flight can therefore be seriously damaged. Attempts have been made to overcome this problem by providing a feed portion of the flight which is separated from the remainder of the flight and which is provided with a slip clutch arrangement so that when engaged with an object, the flight portion can slip relative to the shaft as soon as the torque exceeds a predetermined torque. One example of a device of this type is shown in my previous patent which is Canadian Pat. No. 1,206,115 issued June 17, 1986. This device is however disadvantageous in that it involves a number of separate pieces and in that the amount of torque communicated from the shaft to the flight section is determined by the adjustment of a number hose clamps which must be set by the person installing the device and which are subject to variation and corrosion.